Top Films of the Eighties

In no particular order, here are the best films of the 1980's....

1. Fletch: Chevy at his best. No slapstick, just good ol' fashioned sarcasm. And if your favorite scene is where he dreams he's playing for the Lakers and Chick Hearn says that he's "six-five, with the afro six-nine," then your sense of humor has been weighed and found wanting. Just stick to Vacation....

2. The Untouchables: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Andy Garcia at their finest. 1634 Racine will be forever haunted after that bad guy "brought a knife to a gun fight."

3. Say Anything: The last great film of the decade. The only thing that would have made it better is if Lloyd Dobbler (played by John Cusack) has spoken directly to the camera. Kind of like....

4. Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "'Something-D-O-O economics? Voo-Doo economics." Ben Stein's cameo was worth the price of admission (which was like $3.00 back then).

5. Top Gun: I love it when people's egos write checks their bodies can't cash. I also love it when Maverick says, "That's clasified; I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

6. Pretty in Pink: If The Psychedelic Furs perform the theme song of a film by the same title, it's going in my top ten, so just deal with it. Plus, it's directed by John Hughes. As was....

7. The Breakfast Club: Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" is one of the best songs of the decade, and John Bender's character was pretty unforgettable (which is fitting). The best line of the film was Judd Nelson to Emilio Estevez, who played Andrew the wrestler: "You know, I wanna be just... like... you. I figure, all I need's a labotomy and some tights." And Carl the janitor? He should have his own TV show. (Maybe he does, and it's called Scrubs).

8. The Empire Strikes Back: The best of the six (and the one with which George Lucas had the least to do). Did you know that after Princess Leia told Han Solo, "I love you," that Harrison Ford improvised his response, "I know"?

9. Lethal Weapon II: It's not every day that a sequel beats out its predecessor, but this one did in my view. Martin Riggs's character got way more complex, and the bad guys are just so evil (and racist). I love when Clapton's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" plays after Mertaugh gets shot.

10. Raiders of the Lost Ark: The most powerful line is where Indiana and Marcus are studying the lore surrounding the ark of the covenant, and after seeing an illustration of the wrath of God falling upon his disobedient people, Indy exclaims, "Good God!" His colleague retorts, "That's what the Hebrews thought."

Honorable mention goes to Back to the Future, E.T., and Hoosiers.